Getting Into Hot Water

Drive a stick into the ground anywhere in Hungary, the saying goes, and thermal water will come surging up. The country has some 100 thermal spas, part of a tradition dating back almost two millenniums. Yet today, when most travelers consider a spa trip, they think Japan or Iceland. Hungary is out to change that. By the end of next year, the government and the hotel industry will have spent some $510 million on up to 100 projects ranging from spa refurbishments to a $12.6 million thermal water park in the eastern town of Debrecen. Some of the best spas:...